Difference
by BadWolfInk
Summary: Hannah Baxter meets John Smith, a history professor, in a bar. As the parallel Rose and the Doctor, their story is different. No time travelling, that is.
1. Chapter 1

It wasn't much of a work day and Hannah found herself in a sparsely populated pub in downtown London. She didn't bother ordering more than one beer and was spinning her phone on the counter when someone sat down on the stool next to her.

"Trying to wear a divot into the wood?" he asked.

She stopped spinning it and looked up to see an attractive young man looking at her. He nodded toward her phone. "Oh, no. I'm just bored. Work got over, that's all."

"What do you do?"

"Oh, I'm a…nighttime legal secretary." Hannah pocketed the phone. "What about you?"

"John Smith. I'm a history professor at King's College." He held out his hand.

"Hannah Baxter." She turned back to her drink. "You like history?"

"Loads. It's such a beautiful subject to study. What do you even do at your job?"

"I just sit at a desk. It's really quite boring. But history, what's so interesting about that?"

John ordered a drink and turned to her. "It's such a rich subject. There's always something new to learn, somewhere else to look. Take the Mayans with their exquisite architecture and advancements that put the cavemen to shame, for example. We have so much to learn about their culture. There's always something we don't know about history, I think. Something that's still hidden from all the research."

For once, Hannah was completely interested. An hour or so later, John looked at his watch. "I've got to go. Maybe we could do this again?"

Hannah smiled. "Sure." They exchanged numbers and parted ways, and Hannah went to get ready for another client. She found herself thinking about John Smith when she woke up the next day and called him. "Can you do dinner Tuesday night?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure, I'll pick you up."

Hannah gave him her address. "See you then," she said, smiling.

"Quite right," he replied.


	2. Chapter 2

He was on time, if a bit early, and she let him into her flat. "I'll just be a minute." She left him standing in the living room as she found a pair of shoes. She had decided to wear something casual but wouldn't look out of place in a dressier restaurant, since John had said he'd choose the place. He was wearing jeans and a nice button-down shirt, so she assumed it would be casual.

"Ready to go?" he said when she came into the room.

Hannah smiled. "Yeah." She took the proffered arm and they went down the stairs to the parking garage.

"I hope you don't mind, but there's this little restaurant, a sort of hole in the wall, if you will, that I love. I thought we'd go there."

"No, it sounds perfect."

He smiled. "No work tonight?" he asked as they pulled onto the busy London streets.

Hannah shook her head. "I usually get one night off a week, and then once or twice go in later than usual. It's an inexact science but I make it work. How are your students?"

"Oh, as bright as ever. It's so much fun watching them learn. It's rare for someone to have such a passion about the past, and I quite enjoy watching them."

They continued talking through dinner, and Hannah found him easy to be with, more so than any of her other boyfriends. She needed someone who'd give her back what she was giving, who she could give up her job for. All she needed to do was tell him what she really did, but she didn't want to scare him away.

When he dropped her off at home, he kissed her cheek, and she smiled shyly. John was someone she didn't want to lose. Ever.


	3. Chapter 3

Hannah couldn't remember the last time she'd actually enjoyed sex. She was curled up comfortably in John's arms as he traced patterns across her back.

"You're good," he said, pressing lips against her head.

"I'm not actually a nighttime legal secretary," she replied.

"Oh, you're a prostitute?"

She couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "Call girl, whore, consort, yeah."

John angled himself so he could look at her face. "You're not joking," he said. "I was."

Hannah bit her lip and looked away, wanting to shrink from his gaze. "I'm sorry I lied, I just—"

"Are you going to charge me now?" It was he who let go of her and started getting out of bed.

"John, wait. I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want you to think less of me. Relationships are hard in my line of work and I lost my best friend because of it. Please. I didn't want to lose you." She grabbed his hand and looked up at him, eyes pleading. She knew from the month they'd been together that she could do what she couldn't do for Ben: give up her job.

"Hannah, you lied to me about your job for a month. _A month._ What else have you lied to me about? Your name? How many other guys have you fucked today?" He wrenched his hand from hers and started dressing.

She didn't know what to do. Having been through this scene many times, she let him go, slamming her head onto the pillow as he walked out the door. There was no one to call after this, nowhere she could go. She'd have to face it alone again.

She got home from a run Wednesday afternoon and was heading to the bathroom to shower when her phone rang. "Hello?" she asked.

It was John. "Hannah? I've been thinking and—"

"I gave it up. I hadn't shagged anyone in a month before last weekend. I couldn't do that to you. It got hard to justify."

"Hannah, calm down. I wanted to say that I'll give you a chance to explain, but it seems you already have." He paused. "I'd like to meet up with you again."

"I can come over later," she said, "if you want."

"I'd really like that."

Hannah felt warmth blossom in her chest. Maybe she'd actually get what she wanted: a real relationship with a man she loved.

She'd barely gotten through the door of his flat before he pulled her into a tight hug. "I didn't do anything," she said when he loosened his grip.

John kissed her nose. "You told me you were all mine. And I'd like to have a mature conversation about this." He led her to the sofa. "Can I get you anything?"

She shook her head, and he sat in the armchair across from her. Hannah wrung her hands together. "I tell everyone I'm a legal secretary. It's boring enough that they don't ask, and explains the weird hours I might be available. I never even told my best friend. When I did tell him, it took a while for him to accept it. It's just when I try to have a relationship that everything gets messed up. It's like I said before, I don't want people expecting more from me or losing respect for me. And then I met you." She looked at him, trying to read his face.

He nodded. "If we're going to make this work, there can't be any secrets between us. I'm willing to start over if you are."

Hannah stood and left, closing the door behind her. She turned and knocked on it. John opened it with a confused look on his face. "Hello, I'm Hannah. I used to be a prostitute." She stuck a hand out.

"I'm John. I'm a history professor." He shook it and opened the door wider. "Dinner?"

"Starving."

He cooked them pasta, but what Hannah really enjoyed was the make-up sex that followed. Nuzzling his neck, she said, "Thank you for the second chance."

"It was worth it," he replied. "Someone was going to have to give you one eventually."


	4. Chapter 4

They moved in together. Hannah found herself a job in a nearby shop, and they met for lunch twice a week. She found she enjoyed this new life, one with a simple honest job and a man who loved her way more than she deserved to be. They'd been together for eight months when Hannah found out.

"John, how do you feel about a family?" she asked tentatively over dinner one evening.

John looked up from his plate. "Why do you ask?"

"I...well...John, I'm pregnant." She looked down, unsure of his reaction.

Hannah needn't have worried. A smile exploded on John's face. "You mean we're going to be parents? Hannah, I—thank you." He put down his fork and came to kneel beside her. "How far along are you?"

"Three months. I wasn't completely sure until about a week ago. It's okay with you, right? I mean—"

John clasped her hands. "Hannah, there's nothing I want more than a life with you. Whatever you want to do, I'll stand behind you."

She stood and pulled him into an embrace. "I should be the one thanking you, John," she said, burying her face in his neck. "And we're going to raise this baby together, the right way."

"Aye," he replied, kissing her tenderly. They'd come a long way together, and it was only fitting they'd continue on together, as a family.


End file.
